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Pond5 announces PR collection, makes other changes

I have been getting some royalties, but not significant yet. My only hope is that this will change that. Yeah, I really do hope Pond5 does decide to do an exclusive option at some point, with an increase in percentage to the creator.

If you are making money from Pond5, stay with them. Don’t change you plan because everyone else is doing it. Everyone’s situation is different, and you need to do what is best for you.

I am leaving all of my music there and raising my prices.
 
I am in a tough situation where I work from home due to family circumstances.
Pond5 has been my biggest income maker going on 3 years. If I leave that, my family is on the street. This is not even hyperbole.

The fact that they are doing PRO publishing for free is a big plus for me, and they will be working to help all cue sheets get filed. I'm wondering how much someone would charge to do that work for us?
Yes it is tough to take the change to 35%.

But I think they're working on a lot of stuff to try to increase the overall exposure and income flow (I mean the PRO publishing and cue sheet enforcement effort is one of them).
Yeah, I realize I may be a little biased since I really have to stick with them. But I've always had a good experience with them.

I have not uploaded a new track to Audio Jungle in over a year I think. The upload process is too convoluted and cumbersome and they favor people who've already made money.
Which AJ gives us even less (33%) with no publishing and cue sheet efforts.

I also understand people's argument about not doing RF at all.
I think it is actually a bit strange that I'm basically making a living from it because my music is usually kind of unpolished, but sometimes unique. Not necessarily the best combo for RF. I've heard a lot of comments from people saying that they'd listen to my music for pleasure, but not necessarily consider it "production" music.

So at some point I want to be exclusively into making music for others to listen to for pleasure -- so just Bandcamp, YT videos and other avenues of income. And also making sound effects and virtual instruments.

But for now I'm sticking with Pond5.
First of all, congrats on supporting the family with music. Anyone who can do so gets my respect.

You touch on something that I've been considering whilst watching this thread. I think folk are getting hung up on the percentage increase ("My music is worth more than that!") and a wider view is the better option. Ultimately, every composer has to crunch their own numbers. If I was getting an acceptable ROI of my time composing at 35%, I'd carry on and wouldn't want to be made to feel guilty about it, especially if it put food on the table. Like others have said, you still have some control, like raising prices.

I'm assuming that P5 haven't just ripped out the rug for no reason and are giving justification for the rate decrease.
 
Pleas
First of all, congrats on supporting the family with music. Anyone who can do so gets my respect.

You touch on something that I've been considering whilst watching this thread. I think folk are getting hung up on the percentage increase ("My music is worth more than that!") and a macro view is the better option. Ultimately, every composer has to crunch their own numbers. If I was getting an acceptable ROI of my time composing at 35%, I'd carry on and wouldn't want to be made to feel guilty about it, especially if it put food on the table. Like others have said, you still have some control, like raising prices.

I'm assuming that P5 haven't just ripped out the rug for no reason and are giving justification for the rate decrease.
Please mail them with proper reasons so to. Increase to 42.5% or give some exclusive option
 
Pleas

Please mail them with proper reasons so to. Increase to 42.5% or give some exclusive option


No, 42.5% is still less than 50%. That will not do anything. Pond5 is not going to change their position. The decision has been made and they are moving to 35%. End of story.

So just raise your prices on your music. You have direct control over that.
 
No, 42.5% is still less than 50%. That will not do anything. Pond5 is not going to change their position. The decision has been made and they are moving to 35%. End of story.

So just raise your prices on your music. You have direct control over that.
Increasing the price by 40% will definitely decrease the sales by a big margin I curse Pond5 they will close the company soon
 
Increasing the price by 40% will definitely decrease the sales by a big margin I curse Pond5 they will close the company soon

Oh give it a rest. Pond5 will do fine.

Just pull your music off the site if you are too scared to raise your prices.

Wishing bad in the company is not going to help you or anyone else succeed in life.
 
Really smart of them. Taking more % and the users raise their prices. Double win for Pond5.
Last year I did one afternoon of researches about Pond5, AJ and similar websites and thought about joining them but it only took some hours for me to find out that I will not take part in destroying my own business.
 
Really smart of them. Taking more % and the users raise their prices. Double win for Pond5.
Last year I did one afternoon of researches about Pond5, AJ and similar websites and thought about joining them but it only took some hours for me to find out that I will not take part in destroying my own business.
If you can make a living in music without them, more power to you.
For whatever reason, the situation I am in today does not allow me that luxury. I hope soon I can be completely independent.
 
damn! that was a bomb! devastating percentage. I wonder whats the future of RF stock libraries and for us composers there. Audiojungle elements has already devastated the authors there and I hope something good happens for us authors, since we are their "products" and without us they would have nothing... I hope something good happens for us
 
I just searched you on Pond5. Geez Louise, you have 3671 songs on there! Wow, kudos. Is that the kind of output it takes to live off of library music?

Yes. Quantity is King.

I only have a little over 600 pieces on Pond5. I need more and more and more material out there!
 
I just searched you on Pond5. Geez Louise, you have 3671 songs on there! Wow, kudos. Is that the kind of output it takes to live off of library music?
Thanks!
Lots of edits, lots of experimentation and "questionable" quality over the last 5-6 years, especially my first year or two. I've been wanting to take down those tracks of "lesser" quality for some time. I'm kind of a procrastinator though.

While to get any traction these days you do need to have a high output, I've been trying to focus more on quality....and still output as much as I can.

I still can't stand myself if I don't experiment and try to do things the way I want to. So I think it's been quite a few months sine I've released any Ukulele tracks. It's just not me :)

I was pretty astonished with myself when last year I nearly earned in music what I earned at Booking.com 4 years ago (customer service full time with Russian language premium). A family member had become disabled and I had to make a decision to be fired or quit. I was going to be fired because I was getting too many points due to leaving all the time. It was unsafe to be away from home so the FMLA wasn't really going to solve anything. They don't guarentte an income, just that you won't be fired due to a disability of a family member. So I decided to quit at my own volition, and perhaps have it reflect better than a firing on a resume.

Bear in mind that I also sell on other sites, and also sell Kontakt instruments, sounds, etc.
But last year Pond5 was 60-70% of my income. This year it's even more of a percentage. Summer has been a little pale in sales though --but it kind of always is.

I hope that in a few years I can start working out of the home more. I can only hope that these past years will be a good resume booster at the very least.

Anyways, I think I'll leave it at that for my comments. I don't want this thread to be about my job and family.
But just to put things into perspective for me.
 
Yeah i
Thanks!
Lots of edits, lots of experimentation and "questionable" quality over the last 5-6 years, especially my first year or two. I've been wanting to take down those tracks of "lesser" quality for some time. I'm kind of a procrastinator though.

While to get any traction these days you do need to have a high output, I've been trying to focus more on quality....and still output as much as I can.

I still can't stand myself if I don't experiment and try to do things the way I want to. So I think it's been quite a few months sine I've released any Ukulele tracks. It's just not me :)

I was pretty astonished with myself when last year I nearly earned in music what I earned at Booking.com 4 years ago (customer service full time with Russian language premium). A family member had become disabled and I had to make a decision to be fired or quit. I was going to be fired because I was getting too many points due to leaving all the time. It was unsafe to be away from home so the FMLA wasn't really going to solve anything. They don't guarentte an income, just that you won't be fired due to a disability of a family member. So I decided to quit at my own volition, and perhaps have it reflect better than a firing on a resume.

Bear in mind that I also sell on other sites, and also sell Kontakt instruments, sounds, etc.
But last year Pond5 was 60-70% of my income. This year it's even more of a percentage. Summer has been a little pale in sales though --but it kind of always is.

I hope that in a few years I can start working out of the home more. I can only hope that these past years will be a good resume booster at the very least.

Anyways, I think I'll leave it at that for my comments. I don't want this thread to be about my job and family.
But just to put things into perspective for me.
Yeah we understand you bro. But if we all mail them atleast they will increase to 40+% btw whata the pay you usually receive from them I get like 300+ dollars
 
Yeah i

Yeah we understand you bro. But if we all mail them atleast they will increase to 40+% btw whata the pay you usually receive from them I get like 300+ dollars
It varies quite a bit. Not sure I feel comfortable divulging a number though. I will send a message to them though. You're right about that, couldn't hurt.
 
But last year Pond5 was 60-70% of my income. This year it's even more of a percentage. Summer has been a little pale in sales though --but it kind of always is.

I hope that in a few years I can start working out of the home more. I can only hope that these past years will be a good resume booster at the very least.

Anyways, I think I'll leave it at that for my comments. I don't want this thread to be about my job and family.
But just to put things into perspective for me.

I would strongly encourage you to look for other ways to monetize your catalogue. Don't think along the lines of "Well, 35% is better than nothing". As I said in my previous post, I can foresee Pond5 following AudioJungle's (Envato's) route of going for a $15/month subscription model to stay competitive, which will completely decimate your income when it happens.

I'm not saying pull all of your music off in protest if you're not in a position to do that, but get yourself to a point where it won't really matter to you what Pond5 does. RF is just one part of a much bigger picture. You have a huge catalogue that could be earning you so much more money if you can find a better home for it.
 
I say again just send them a mail regarding this in a reasonable way they may consider that. It costs nothing to do. That
 
If you really want to protest against Pond5 then I think pulling your tracks is not the right approach.

Raise your prices to $1000 per track. That'll make your feelings known and, if you also aim to disrupt their business, be just as effective in that regard. So you produce two results rather than none.

rgames
 
I wonder if Pond5 seriously considered an Exclusive Option for Music Contributors, similar to what they offer to their Video Artists:


There are a number of clients that won't take Non-Exclusive music tracks, no matter how good they are, because of the risks (perceived and actual) involved. That may not be P5's core client base, but it's definitely a segment of the marketplace that could be a significant area of growth for them.

What are your thoughts about P5 offering an Exclusive Option for Music Artists with a 60/40 split (60% to Artists, 40% to P5)? The curation/review process might change to ensure quality content, but that's to be expected. Any other ideas about this?
 
I wonder if Pond5 seriously considered an Exclusive Option for Music Contributors, similar to what they offer to their Video Artists:


There are a number of clients that won't take Non-Exclusive music tracks, no matter how good they are, because of the risks (perceived and actual) involved. That may not be P5's core client base, but it's definitely a segment of the marketplace that could be a significant area of growth for them.

What are your thoughts about P5 offering an Exclusive Option for Music Artists with a 60/40 split (60% to Artists, 40% to P5)? The curation/review process might change to ensure quality content, but that's to be expected. Any other ideas about this?
I have had conversations with Mike Pace in which he mentioned them considering this option. I think his hands are kind of tied. I think it's something he would like to see. I did express with him the desire to have this option in place. But I guess they opted to go in a different direction for now.
I wouldn't rule it out at some point (at least I hope so).
I also think it's really the only way to curb the over-saturation. I actually think that at some point for the health of the industry, libraries need get have a tougher process involved in accepting new artists and get a lot more picky with their track acceptances. The pie slices are getting smaller and smaller for each person.
It sucks for newcomers, but I was a later comer (libraries started some 15-20 years ago?). It's already hard enough now. There are over 1,000,000 music tracks on Pond5. How many I wonder on Audiosparx (a place I won't touch with a 10 foot pole)?
 
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